Through My Eyes
by CrazyMadButterfly
Summary: Thanks to Cerberus, Shepard is alive again and turning a new leaf in her life. Unfortunately, the collectors are abducting human colonies and it's up to her and her to stop them. With limited funds and resources, and a lot of emotions riding on the commander's shoulders, can she get the job done? Shakarian later on, former Shenko. Rated M for language, etc. ME2 time frame.
1. Omega

**Author's note**: **Bioware owns all fanfiction image, characters and...yadyadyada. You get the gist of it. Some elements of this fic are A/U, just plain non-existent to canon, and/or has significant dialogue modifications. (A blossoming Shakarian romance eventuates but not immediately.) You'll also probably notice, dialogue on **_**missions **_**tend to stay very close to canon.**

**One more thing: it starts off on the priority mission to recruit Garrus Vakarian. Why? It's because I have a weakness for the turian. Please indulge my fangirliness. I'll shut up now. Bye!**

CHAPTER 1

Archangel was definitely going to be a tough bastard to get to. Blue Suns mercenaries and freelancers were polluted outside of the apartment. Shepard took cover behind a small crate, just enough to protect her small body from gunshots. For a while, anyway.

After getting headshots on a salarian and an asari, she lifted her sniper rifle and scanned the upper level of the apartment for this _Archangel_. All she could make out was a turian's silhouette with blue armor and a matching helmet.

"W-what?" A human man shrieked anxiously. "She's with them!"

Shepard reloaded her Mantis rifle and licked her lips. All the adrenaline made her lips quite dry. That was just the beginning of the mission, too.

Miranda and Kasumi accompanied the commander on this particular mission. They, like anyone, weren't exactly having the best time of their lives. Kasumi hid herself with her cloak to whack a few people out-sometimes even killing them.

"Commander, watch out!" Miranda yelled, cupping half of her mouth. The second-in- command was kneeling uncomfortably in front of the wall just outside the apartment.

Without hesitation, the commander lowered her head to her knees, feeling a large gush of wind pass over head. Barely lifting her head from that position, she smirked at Miranda. "Thanks." She shouted. Shepard normally wasn't one for niceties but felt grateful at the moment.

Miranda glanced back at her and Shepard could almost swear she saw the most vile look pass over the dark-haired woman's face before she shot some guy down with her pistol.

There were two women surrounding a large bomb on the ground, obviously planted by the soon to be companion. One of the women was kneeling in front of the lethal device. Maybe she was trying to disarm it? The other woman was also kneeling next to her but quickly stood on her feet. Eventually, she made eye contact with the commander but before the blonde woman could shoot her, Shepard immediately took her down with her beloved Mantis.

_Bam!_

Her shoulder was shot and with it came a searing hot pain under her armor; it dented her thick metal armor slightly. Instinctively with two fingers, Shepard patted her shoulder and was relieved to see that there was no blood. Just a concussive round. There was no time to focus on that, especially when there were trigger-happy mercenaries and gunfire all over the place.

The commander peered up at the turian above her. He pulled out of cover and immediately turned his attention towards her, scoping his sniper rifle at her.

_He's probably going to be a pain..._

* * *

Was it her?_ No no no, it can't be her. _

Garrus took down two-no three-mercs simultaneously before reloading his gun.

Human. Thick, almond brown hair just a couple of inches past her shoulders-the bright gemstone green eyes...

_No. Just some other human._

Garrus shook his head, feeling a slight headache from the unending sound of gunshots. He was exhausted but sleep was the last thing on his mind.

The former C-Sec officer aimed his sniper rifle at a freelancer and shot his head clean off his shoulders.

Another dead.

One more-no two.

Three.

Garrus was intent on shifting his attention away from the woman that looked unquestionably like his best friend. _Dead best friend_.

"_Commander, watch out!"_ He hears a woman yell. She had a certain type of accent that he'd only heard amongst humans.

He gets back into cover and pops the used heatsinks from his rifle. He was about to reload but stopped when he heard a very familiar voice.

"_Thanks_!" He'd heard _her _shout.

It was just one word but the commander's voice was unmistakable.

Even during life threating situations, Garrus's mind often wandered. _They aren't shooting at me._ With the press of a simple button, Garrus made sure to switch his ammunition to concussive rounds.

Carefully, he aimed at _her. _She was hiding behind a crate but he could see a piece of her black armor sticking out from the side.

_Bam_! He fired a shot on her shoulder.

It was definitely Commander Shepard. Garrus got a good look at her face. _Why is she here? _His thoughts were scrambled; there was no way his mind would be playing sick jokes on him.

She was touching her shoulder and even looked up at him.

Maybe just one more concussive shot...

* * *

Shepard and her team trudged up the stairs, slightly wary of Omega's infamous Archangel. At that point, she'd been holding up a carnifex pistol after her rifle ran out of heat sinks.

When she made it to the top though, the turian didn't turn around. Instead he kept shooting. _Odd_.

She decided to get his attention. "Archangel?" She asked, stoically.

Archangel held up a single finger, firing off one more shot before standing up and turning his body around to the commander. He walked a few steps over to a gray crate, taking a seat it.

Shepard noticed that there were photo frames on the table near him and datapads scattered all over. There were only two tables in the apartment-one of which he leaned one of his large armored feet on. After leaning his sniper rifle on a crate beside him, he slowly took off his helmet and put it on the ground in front of him.

It would have been an understatement if the commander felt 'surprised'. She literally felt like her breath had been taken away for a few seconds, realizing that her best friend was right there before her. He looked weary, his body only slumping over with his arms resting on both of his legs.

"Shepard. I thought you were dead." He said, coming out a bit more underwhelming than he intended. It was almost as if he were expecting her to explain her whereabouts for the last two years. Her hair was longer and she had scars on her cheeks but he was curious about her. It was her-that much was certain.

"Garrus!" She exclaimed excitedly, holding open both of her arms. "What are you doing here?"

Kasumi brought a hand up to her mouth and coughed. "You two know each other?"

Shepard quickly glanced at the master thief and nodded in response.

"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice." The tall turian joked.

Shepard examined his face for a couple of seconds. Garrus was definitely tired and appeared to be distressed. Her excitement over seeing him slowly turned to worry.

In a softer tone she asked, "You okay?"

"Been better but it sure is good to see a friendly face." Garrus began fumbling around with the butt of his sniper rifle. He continued, "Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own."

The commander shifted most of her weight to her right leg. "What are you doing out here on Omega?"

"Got fed up with all the bureaucratic crap on the Citadel. Figured I could do more good on my own." Garrus was looking down at the ground at that point. "At least it's not hard to find criminals here. All I have to do is point my gun and shoot." Shepard knew there was more to it than he let on; she decided not to poke the subject further.

"How'd you manage to piss off every major merc organization in the Terminus Systems?"

That got his attention. Garrus grinned, feeling smug at his own accomplishments. "It wasn't easy...I _really _had to work at it." He pointed absently, with his elbow, toward the wall behind the table. "I'm amazed that they teamed up to fight me. They must _really _hate me."

Shepard laughed weakly. "Since when did you start calling yourself _Archangel_?"

"It's just a name the locals gave me for all my good deeds. I don't mind it, but please..." He cleared his throat nervously and continued, "it's just _Garrus _to you."

The commander rolled her neck and shoulders. Garrus was inwardly amused at how puffy and messy her hair looked. He remembered back on the SR-1 how she always liked to keep her hair in a neat spiral bun. She hated wearing her hair down unless it was for special occasions. Maybe it was a special occasion. She was right there standing in front of him breathing. That was enough for him.

"You nailed me good a couple of times, by the way."

"Concussive rounds only. No harm done. Didn't want the mercs getting suspicious." His gaze lingered on her for a moment too long before he went on, "Besides, you were taking your sweet time. Needed to get you moving."

They both shared a small laugh before the room was filled with silence. Not an uncomfortable one but tension in the air was thick. Unanswered questions, odd reunion...and just who were the other women that tagged along with the commander?

"Uh huh..." Shepard grinned.

"If I wanted to do more than take your shields down, I'd have done it." He voiced with an unintentional defensive tone.

"Well we got here but I don't think getting out will be as easy."

Garrus lifted his body off of the crate, picking his sniper rifle up with him. "No, it won't. That bridge has saved my life...funneling all of those witless idiots into scope." He turned pointed downward to the area below the top of the apartment. "But it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way."

Miranda scoffed loudly. "So what? We sit here and wait for them to take us out?"

Garrus shook his head, slightly annoyed. "It's not all that bad." He looked around, scanning his surroundings. "This place has held them off so far. And with the three of you..."

The former C-Sec officer took a few steps toward the flight of stairs but stopped short of it and Shepard followed quietly behind him. She felt bad for him. Or was it concern? Shepard was not normally very empathetic but her close friends were a different matter. "How did you let yourself get into this predicament?"

Garrus pretended to do something important with his sniper rifle and didn't make eye contact with the commander. "My feelings got in the way of my better judgement. It's a long story." Clearly he wasn't set on the idea of talking about his own life and wanted to drop the conversation. "I'll make you a deal. Promise me you'll get me out of here alive, and I'll tell you the whole story."

Shepard simply smiled at him and said, "I promise...If we fight as a team, we'll hold 'em off."

* * *

The mission ended badly. **Very** badly.

Shepard was supposed to recruit somebody to help fight against the collectors. She couldn't do that if Garrus was-

_No. Yes. Yes, he'll make it. _The tiny brunette paced back and forth in the comm room, biting her bottom lip. The taste of copper-flavored blood littered her taste buds but she didn't care. _It's my fault. I promised_...

Jacob's eyes lingered on her for far too long. Only then, did he decide to break the awkward silence. "Commander, we've done what we could for Garrus...but he took a bad hit."

Shepard stopped pacing, dead in her tracks and stared gloomily at the table in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat and didn't want to hear what he had to say next. She was the _Great Commander Shepard_ but deep down inside she a human being with feelings. At least she _thought _she was a human being.

"The docs corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality but..."

As if by miracle, the communication room door slid open and there stood Garrus. Shepard didn't even try to contain the sigh of relief she'd had. At least he was alive. She wanted to jump on him and give him the biggest hug he'd ever had; Shepard wasn't even touchy-feely.

Jacob folded his arms and smiled. "Touch son of a bitch. Didn't think he'd be up yet."

"Shepard." Garrus said blankly, his eyes focused merely on her.

All the commander did was smile comically like an idiot. Garrus entered the room and began approaching the commander. "Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?"

"Hell Garrus, you were always ugly." Shepard tossed her hair behind her shoulder. "Slap some face paint on there and no one'll even notice."

For the first time in a long time, Garrus laughed but then pain stabbed his mandible. "Ha-ah! Don't make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding together as it is." He shifted his weight back on his left foot. "Some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you most of those women are Krogan."

The commander shook her head, laughing under her breath. She didn't even know what to say.

"Jokes aside, I heard you have your own _Captain's quarters_. Fancy you." His deep voice purred.

"I can give the grand tour if you want." She wiggled her eyebrows, confusing Garrus slightly. Some human expressions were difficult to understand, despite the large amount of years he had spent working around humans.

Garrus shrugged. "Sure...and if we can, I'd like to catch up with you in private."

"Not good enough to talk here?" Shepard half-smiled and gestured with her arms to the entire room around her.

"It's good but I prefer not to have people coming in here and interrupting our conversation."

Shepard began to feel annoyed when her silky hair kept falling in her face, so she roughly threw both sides of her hair behind her shoulders. "We can do that."

* * *

Garrus entered the cabin; he was surprised at how large the private room was. "Nice bed...I can think of _oh so_ many things to do on it."

The commander punched his right arm playfully. "When did you become such a flirt?" She laughed-astonishing green eyes sparkling through her half open eyelids.

"Mmm..." He purred. "Self-taught flirting lessons."

She sighed. "You're so lame, Garrus."

"You love it."

Her eyes beamed around her room, from the ceiling, bulkheads and finally to the ground. "I just _love_ what Cerberus has done with the place." She said sarcastically.

"That's what I've been meaning to talk to you about." Garrus tone was serious. "I'm worried about you...Cerberus, Shepard? Do you remember those sick experiments we saw?"

"Of course I do and I don't condone what they've done." Shepard let out a humorless laugh. "I'm on a mission to stop the collectors from abducting human colonies and if I'm walking into hell, I need the best at my side. That's including you, Garrus." She said, lightly poking a finger into his armored chest. "This is probably a suicide mission."

"You realize this plan has me walking into hell too. Heh, just like old times." His mandibles flickered, showing only a brief smirk. "Well you don't have to ask me twice. I'll be here whenever you need me."

Shepard put a hand on her hip and smiled genuinely. "Thank you...I-I appreciate it more than I can say."

Garrus nodded and after a few seconds, he absentmindedly stared at the photo of Kaidan Alenko on her desk. He and Kaidan were friends but they weren't extraordinarily close. The turian knew-no, everybody that served with Shepard on the SR-1 knew about her relationship with the biotic lieutenant. He decided not to ask about it and instead, focused his attention to Shepard. He began to notice how she would begin to stare off somewhere as if she were lost deeply in her thoughts. Two years back when the two served together, she was always laughing and talking and smiling. Shepard seemed lost and sad. "Talk to me, Shepard." He demanded.

"About what, Garrus?" She shot the turian a look he couldn't quite contemplate. Was it anger?

"You seem different." Garrus statement came off as sounding like an inquiry.

The commander rubbed a finger over a thin scar, residing on her upper right cheek. "Everyone's been saying the same thing ever since they found out I was alive." She rolled her eyes and rambled on. "Friends I've had turned on me and give me dirty looks. I get the most evil spiteful messages! People that once called me a _hero_ spit on me, call me fake...And not only is it because I'm with Cerberus but because-"

Garrus held up a hand to stop her mid sentence. "You're real, Shepard. I know you're you."

"Why am I alive, Garrus?" Shepard rested her face in both of her palms. "I should have been left for dead!"

"Hey, don't talk like that. You have people that care about you...I-you have friends that are here for you."

The commander let out a heavy sigh. "I know...I'm sorry." She rose her face out of her hands to greet his blue-gray eyes with her own green pair. "This is not good for morale."

"Morale, Shepard? I'm more than your subordinate, you know. You don't have to be wary of me too."

"You know I'm not, Garrus." Shepard plopped her back down on the bed, making the mattress bounce a little. "I'm so happy you're alive. I was worried about you after that guns-" Before she finished her sentence, she glanced at Garrus to determine whether or not it was a sensitive subject. She finished. "After that gunship."

"It's going to take a lot more than that to get me down. You know that."

"Let's...not tempt fate." She laughed.

Garrus glanced back at her and the way she looked was...cute? He'd never say that to her, though. He stood on his feet and rolled his neck, clutching the armor around his collar ring. "I'm fit for duty whenever you need me Shepard. I'll settle in and see what I can do at the forward batteries."

The commander stood up with him. "Of course."

The big turian began to stride over to the exit but turned around to her before he left. "It's good to have you back, Shepard. I mean it." Before she could reply, he left her cabin.

* * *

To be continued!


	2. Horizon

**A/N**: **Chapter two is a little shorter than I had intended. This will be based on Priority: Horizon, and how it plays out between Shepard and Staff Commander Alenko. This chapter features a bit of banter and a reunion but doesn't cover the **_**entire**_** mission-for your sakes and mine. All copyrights go to Bioware! (Almost all!) **

**FYI: It's probably not important, but Shepard is indeed, an engineer.**

CHAPTER 2

The past couple of days on the cerberus vessel sped by. All ready, Shepard had been recruiting complete strangers to support her cause against the collectors.

Focused on his calibrations, Garrus shook his head-mandibles hugging his face. There was an unpredictable tank-bred baby krogan _and_ a demented woman, _bathing-in-tatoos_ on deck four; it made him very uneasy. On the SR-1, all of Shepard's squad mates were..._reasonable? Can Wrex be considered reasonable? _The former C-Sec officer shook his head again, lightly.

Garrus's thoughts nudged him about his squad mates over and over. What was the salarian's name? _Morgan_? _Meran_? _No_. _Mordin_. _Yes, that's the name_! Garrus found the salarian scientist over the top, even for a salarian but he did like professor. He also knew that Shepard had taken a great liking to him, as well.

Miranda was cold and ruthless, while Jacob seemed like a good guy-for a Cerberus lackey. Kasumi was weird-even for a human.

Shepard and Garrus hadn't spoken very much, except for the day he told her about Sidonis. He clearly remembered shutting down and dismissing her from the conversation soon after. _Sidonis. Sidonis._ Garrus stopped doing whatever calibrations he was doing and clenched both of his three-fingered talons into tight fists. _Sidonis_. The damned turian was poisoning his mind. The turian found himself growling but didn't care.

"I need a drink." He said aloud to himself. He straightened his body, turned toward the door, and headed toward the mess hall.

Garrus, for the life of him, couldn't stop thinking about his lost team-how he blamed himself for everyone of their deaths. Reality brought him out of his thoughts after he accidentally bumped into the commander. She stumbled back a little, but he held onto her upper arms so she wouldn't fall. "Sorry, Commander." He uttered quietly.

She was wearing casuals, similar to the ones most doctors on the citadel normally wore. He noticed that her hair was in that memorable high bun she used to always wear but with bangs that covered her eyebrows.

"It's okay." She replied. He eased his hands off of her thin arms as she spoke. "I just spoke with The Illusive Man in the debriefing room."

"What did he say?"

"_Staff Commander_ Alenko is on Horizon." Shepard said wringing her slender fingers together, nervously.

Both of Garrus's brow plates were raised slightly. "Staff Commander? And what's he doing on Horizon?"

"The Illusive Man was sketchy on the details...but he said that Kaidan was sent by the Alliance to investigate the collector attacks on the colony." She contained a smile, threatening to form upon her lips. She missed Kaidan and wanted to see him-if that was even possible. "When Mordin is finished with the counter measure against the seeker swarms, Joker will set a course for the planet."

Garrus shifted most of his weight to one foot and hummed. "You don't think this is some kind of set up?" It certainly seemed odd to both of them that The Illusive Man automatically knew about it. Then _again_, it was The Illusive Man after all.

"Hm? No, I hope not!" After closing her eyes, she brought a finger up to both of her temples and rubbed them tenderly. "Damn it. The Illusive Man told me that the collectors are probably going after him to get to me." Shepard opened her eyes again and met his. "The last time I met up with Anderson on the citadel to renew my spectre status, he wouldn't tell me a thing about Kaidan."

Garrus rolled his head side to side. "If you need me to, I can come with you. I need some fresh air anyway." Lowering his voice he added, "Though...it will probably have to wait a few hours since I planned on drinking my ass off."

Shepard began snickering, straightening her posture afterward. "Heh, I wish I could drink my ass off with you but duty calls. The galaxy can't save itself."

"Oh I know." Garrus held back a laugh. "The galaxy needs that one stubborn, fleshy human woman to save everyone...from _bugs_."

"That's me: the infamous exterminator." The commander smirked, pinching the bottom of her chin. "Of course saving the galaxy from bugs wouldn't be possible without her _dashingly_ _handsome_ turian friend by her side."

Before Garrus could say anything to her, Mordin interrupted the conversation. "Shepard." He said, capturing both of their attention. "Counter measure for seeker swarms done. Ready when you need me."

"Thank you Mordin. I'll be in the airlock in about ten minutes." Shepard said. With that, Mordin turned swiftly on his heels and headed for the elevator.

The commander sighed. "Are you coming?" In the back of her mind, she somehow knew that Garrus would say _yes _no matter what. During their fight against Saren two years ago, Garrus accompanied her on most missions, along with another randomly chosen squad member. The two were suckers for action.

Garrus's mandibles flared into a grin. "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Finally, the trio set foot on Horizon-armed with their weapons. The grass was crunchy and looked as if it were in the process of dying. The air was thicker than usual on the planet which caused everything to appear foggy. Aside from that, the purple-blue sky and the voluminous leafy trees made the colony appear to be gorgeous. _That'll definitely change_.

As the commander lead her team forward she asked, "Mordin, are you sure those armor upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?"

"Mm, certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should confuse detection, make us invisible to seeker swarms. In theory."

Garrus shook his head, feeling somewhat negatively amused. "In theory? That sounds promising." He quipped.

"Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms." Mordin responded.

Before the team could get a good look around Horizon and get a grip for where their destination was, collectors began flying down. Four, five. Maybe even six.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Garrus yelled before taking cover behind a wall just a few feet away from him. The professor tucked himself behind two large dark crates.

"Shoot now, ask questions later!" She yelled back while getting herself into cover behind a wall, just beside the tall turian.

Garrus mumbled something to the commander, but she simply was too busy scoping her targets and shooting them down to hear him.

A colossal bright rainbow beam shot past Shepard's head. Not only did the deafening sound make her ears ring, but she felt the heat of the beam on her face. "Shit! What...is that?" She muttered-heart racing.

Shepard pulled her Mantis upward and immediately killed the collector with the terrifying weapon. She could feel her boots dipping into the extraordinarily most soil beneath her.

"Never saw me coming!" The turian yelled feeling smug after shooting down two collectors in rapid succession.

Mordin annihilated one of the collectors, barely taking cover behind a large truck. "Next!" He shouted.

When all of the enemies were defeated, the team cautiously stashed away their weapons. Joker was trying to get through to her over the communication device but it failed. "Comman...-tting all kinds...-ference. We can't maintai..."

"The collectors are disrupting communications." The commander stated plainly.

"I guess we're on our own now." Garrus uttered.

Shepard, Mordin and Garrus strode forward only to be embraced by ghostly silence. The commander felt weak at the knees. Seeing and hearing the shudder-some noises the abominations made-seeing what her corpse _could_ have become...or worst; it was unsettling. Walking, shooting, and talking _shells_ that belonged to the reapers always ceased to make her cringe.

Garrus examined his friend. Her expression appeared blank but he knew deep down, she was lost in thought. "You okay?" He asked her in a gentle tone.

She seemed to snap out of her thoughts. "Yes, I'm okay." She lied as per usual. "How about you, Vakarian?"

"Well..."He hummed deeply, in a way that Shepard always loved. "Considering we're still alive _and_ kicking ass, I'm doing just fine." The both shared a laugh.

"Ha, I'm flattered that you think we're kicking ass and we've barely done a thing."

"Oh?" Shepard's brows wrinkled in confusion when she could clearly see him choking back a laugh. "I meant Mordin and myself were kicking ass."

"You dick!" She exclaimed, pretending to be angry. "You're _so_ on, Vakarian!"

Some movement caught Shepard's attention from the corner of her eye.

"Hostiles inbound." She announced, tapping Garrus's shoulder to capture his attention. "We'll see who's kicking ass after this." She half-smiled. She didn't know what it was about that turian that always put her in a good mood in the most horrible times; for that, she was thankful.

* * *

The commander was exhausted and her temperature was soaring. She wiped some sweat off of her forehead with the back of her armored glove. She and her squad were holed up behind some crates, taking down as many collectors and husks as possible.

_Boom_!

Shepard shot another one down, but the most bizarre thing began to occur. The collector she thought she had killed was suddenly floating in the air. She exchanged quick glances with Mordin before looking at the scene again. The corpse began glowing yellow through cracks all over its body.

"**I am Harbinger. Assuming direct control**." It said in a deep tone before setting its feet onto the ground. "**This is what you will face. If I must tear you apart, Shepard, I will**."

"Focus your firepower on him!" Shepard shrieked, pointing at Harbinger. The squad did as they as they were indeed instructed to do.

"Right, Commander." Mordin said.

The commander rapidly summoned a large round drone that immediately began flying over to Harbinger.

After firing off a shot at the persistent collector, Garrus glimpsed at her. "Really, Shepard?"

"**Stop Shepard. You will fail." **It was impossible not to hear the collector off in the distance.

"Really what?" She replied to the former C-Sec officer-her tone sounding dry.

"Sending a _tech_ _drone_ to do your dirty work for you is _not_ kicking ass."

Shepard rolled her eyes and tossed her damp bangs away from her forehead, relishing the cool air that brushed her skin. "Since when in the world were there rules?" She licked her parched lips.

A collector about fifty or sixty feet away from the trio aimed his weapon at Garrus. Unfortunately, his attention was focused on Shepard.

"Get down!" She whispered to him loudly; he did.

After series of fired heat sinks, She took down the enemy. All of a sudden, she started laughing. _Loudly_. "Look who's so big and bad cowering behind that crate, Vakarian!" The commander mocked.

"What? But you said-" Garrus didn't know what to say.

Shepard chortled some more. "Let's go get some shade, big guy."

"Humans." He grumbled under his breath.

* * *

Eventually they entered a dark room but there was something fortuitous about the atmosphere-as if someone occupied the room. Shepard scrambled for her Carnifex and aimed behind a large lone wall, after hearing some sniffling. "Company." She mentioned, causing Mordin and Garrus to aim their weapons in the same direction. "Get out here! Now!" She demanded.

A couple of seconds later, a man with a goofy-looking baseball cap peaked his head from behind the wall. Shepard motioned her team to holster their weapons and they did. She simply lowered hers. He wore an outfit similar to the Alliance casuals she used to wear, but the man was unrecognizable.

The wrinkly man began pacing the room. "You're...you're human! What are you doing out here? You'll lead _them _right in here!"

"You had to hear them trying to get in. Seems like it's hard to hide from the Collectors." Shepard said unknowingly cocking her head to the left.

"Those things are...collectors? They're real?" The man turned his back to the squad and rambled. "I thought they were just made up. You know-propaganda. To keep us in Alliance space." His eyes widened as he kept on talking. "No! T-they got Lilith. I saw her go down. Sten, too. They got damn near everybody."

"What's your name? What do you do here?"

"Name's Delan. Mechanic. I came down to check on the main grid after we lost some comm signals. Then I heard screaming." There was much sadness and regret in his tone. "Damn it- it's the Alliance's fault! They stationed that Staff Commander Alenko here and built those defense towers. It made us a target!"

"Tell me more about this Alliance rep." Shepard pretended not to know about the biotic commander but she was inwardly desperate to hear something-anything about him or his whereabouts.

Delan scoffed and wrinkled his nose. "Staff Commander Alenko? Heard he was some kind of hero or something. Didn't mean nothin' to me, though. Would've rather he just stayed back in Council Space." His hate and blatant disregard for the Alliance was clear.

"Any idea what he was doing here on Horizon?"

"He's supposed to be helping us get the defense towers operational. I got the feeling he was here for something else...spying on us, maybe."

Sighing, Shepard inquired, "What can you tell me about the colony defense towers?"

"A gift from the Alliance. High powered GARDIAN lasers. Supposed to keep hostile ships from landing near the colony." The mechanic approached the commander, squinting. She could tell that he was definitely a talker. "I had to build an underground generator just to give it enough juice. We just couldn't get the targeting systems online."

_That explains a lot_. Shepard's thoughts began nipping at her. To her surprise, Delan continued to speak.

"The Alliance gave us a giant gun that couldn't even shoot straight. Stupid sons of bitches."

Shepard rolled her heavily armored shoulders. "If you have any defenses, we can use them against the collector ship!"

"You'd need to calibrate the targeting systems; its never worked right."

"We can figure it out. Just tell us where to find it." Garrus interjected suddenly.

"Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony. You'll see the targeting controls at a base."

For a second, Shepard paused. "It might be safer if you wait here."

Delan chuckled humorlessly. "I was thinkin' the same thing." He brought out his omni-tool to unlock the door beside them. "I'll let you out but I'm locking the door behind you. I'm not taking any chances."

* * *

"GARDIAN anti-ship batteries are at one hundred percent, commander." EDI announced. "I have control."

"Give it all you've got!" Shepard shouted. There was a giant praetorian-something that Shepard hadn't ever seen or heard before. _Of course...they're collectors. _

Using the collector beam she had found earlier, she and her team tried bringing the barrier down. To her surprise, they did so quickly.

The giant four-legged beast was firing an intensely frightening purple beam at them; they did their best to dodge behind the limited cover they were provided with.

Clutching the trigger desperately, Shepard began to feel the weapon slowing down and running out of _power_. Instead, the commander lifted the weapon over her head, trying to clip it onto the weapon holster but there was a technicality. Somehow, part of the heavy gun got caught on a lock of her hair. _Okay, calm down. _She thought, steadying her harsh and heavy breathing.

"My attack was ineffective!" Garrus called out, frustrated. He hadn't noticed her.

The commander tried untangling her hair from the device but to no prevail. She even tried pulling it and tugging it. In one hand she clutched the weapon within her line of sight. With the other hand, she had a hold of her hair trying to get the damn thing off. _How the hell did this happen? _

Finally, after one more try she was able to pull the weapon free from her hair-taking a few strands with it.

Before the commander knew it, the praetorian was turned to ashes...literally.

Shepard, Mordin, and Garrus climbed to their feet. Mordin breathed in through his nostrils and exhaled heavily. "Knew armor upgrades would work. Must study it again when onboard the Normandy."

The team began feeling the ground tremble endlessly beneath them.

EDI mentioned through the comm, "Firing anti-ship batteries at Collector vessel."

The brunette gazed up at the collector vessel and felt her heart sink when the anti-firing batteries failed to stop it from flying away.

Bending over slightly to rest her hands on her knees, Shepard said, "Good job guys. You did an excellent job." Her tone was not one of sarcasm, but there was a tinge of sadness in her tone. She was upset that the entire colony hadn't been saved, and worst-Kaidan was nowhere to be found. _The collectors can't have taken him._

Garrus knew that she was upset but he hadn't the slightest clue on how to comfort her. "There's no reason to stay. Most of the colonists are onboard the vessel...they got what they came for."

There was loud crunching in the grass behind them so they all turned to face Delan, running toward them. "No! Don't let them get away!"

"That ship is huge! Exactly how do you expect me to catch it?" Shepard's intonation was bitchy.

"Half the colony is in there-they took Eagan and Sam and Lilith," The old mechanic whined, pacing back and forth, "Don't just stand there! Do something!"

"We did our best. You just hid in your damn bunker."

Garrus put a hand on Shepard's shoulder. "If it wasn't for Shepard, you'd all be onboard that ship." He commented in her defensive.

Delan turned his body around to them. "Shepard? Wait...I know that name. You're some kind of big Alliance hero."

The commander's head turned to the left when she heard a very familiar voice. Kaidan approached her calmly. Her heart skipped a beat and she couldn't grasp what she was feeling. "Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy, first human spectre." He stopped a few feet short of her and glimpsed at the mechanic. "You're in the presence of a legend Delan." The dark-haired biotic squinted at Shepard; his voice turned into one with a resentful resonance. "And a ghost."

She was frozen with shock and didn't know what to say so she just stared stupidly at Kaidan.

"All the people we lost and _you _get left behind. Figures." Delan waved a dismissive hand and walked away. "Screw this, I'm done with you Alliance types."

Kaidan walked closer to his former lover and studied her face. He wanted to see if she was the Shepard that he knew two years ago. She'd gained some new scars. She had the same _pouty_ lips and brown hair. Her eyes were still the brilliant gemstone green ones that he fell in love with..._It can't be her. _Kaidan wrapped his arms around Shepard tightly and she returned the gesture.

She couldn't help but to get temporarily lost in the memories and feelings they shared. It only felt like weeks since she'd embraced Kaidan. He carried a thick smell in his hair, that smelled of a spice found in mens' bar soaps but mixed with sweat. He smelled exactly as she remembered him.

"I thought you were dead, Shepard. We all did." The staff commander's voice was raspy.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two broke off the embrace. "It's been too long Kaidan, how've you been?" Shepard immediately regretted her words when they came out.

Kaidan shrugged and waved both of his arms in the air. He definitely felt his anger rising. "Is that all you have to say?" He scoffed, mind scrambling on what to say. "You show up after two years and just act like nothing happened. I thought we had something, Shepard." Kaidan lifts one of her tiny hands hoping to feel her rough skin to find something else familiar about her. His blood was boiling at that point; he couldn't suppress his anger. "I-I loved you. Thinking you were dead tore me apart." The staff commander let go of her hands unknowingly, so lost in his own mind. "How could you put me through that? Why didn't you try to contact me-to let me know you were alive?"

The commander frowned sadly, rubbing her upper arm. Her heart was broken and her face felt stone cold. Numb. "Not my choice." She said stoically. "I was in a coma for two years before Cerberus rebuilt me..."

The biotic took two steps back as if he'd captured some kind of bacteria-some kind of disease from the commander. At least that's what the look on his face appeared to be. "You're with Cerberus now? I can't believe the reports were right."

"Reports?" Garrus quipped. "You mean you already knew?"

"Alliance intel thought that Cerberus might be behind the missing human colonies. I got a tip this one might the next one to get hit...Anderson stonewalled me, letting me know there were rumors that you weren't dead-that you were working for the enemy."

Shepard began to feel her own anger rise. "So you were sent here by the Alliance? They turned their backs on us in the middle of this crisis, Kaidan." Her statement didn't quite come out the way she wanted it to but she hoped she got her point across.

"You can't really believe that! We both know what Cerberus is like and what they're capable of!" The dark-haired biotic shouted. Shepard never saw Kaidan treat her like that before. "I wanted to believe the rumors that you were alive but I never expected anything like this. You turned your back on everything we believed in." A look passed upon his face that was incomprehensible. "You betrayed the Alliance. You betrayed me."

"Kaidan, you know me! How can you even say that? You know I'd only do this for the right reason!" Shepard pleaded with him to understand her. He couldn't have possibly been walking away from her, thinking she'd actually betray him. "The collectors are targeting human colonies and they're working with the reapers. Cerberus is the only one willing to do something about it."

"I want to believe you Shepard, but I don't trust Cerberus. They could using the threat of a reaper to manipulate you. What if they're behind this?" His eyes examined hers for understanding as he spoke but he didn't find it. "What if they're working with the collectors?"

Garrus was clenching one of his fists and he didn't even know it. He couldn't stand by and let her take the heat for trying to save the human population. "Damn it, Kaidan. You're so focused on Cerberus that you're _ignoring_ the real threat."

Kaidan nearly forgot his former squad mate had been standing there the entire time. He spared him a glimpse but nothing else.

"You're letting how you feel about their history get in the way of facts." Shepard's voice was gentle and she tried to remain civil.

"Maybe. Or maybe you feel you owe Cerberus because they rebuilt you; maybe you're the one whose not thinking straight. You've changed but I still know where my loyalties lie." Alenko ran a hand through his thick hair. "I'm an Alliance soldier, always will be. I've gotta report back to the citadel-they can decide whether they believe your story or not."

"I can use someone like you in my crew, Kaidan. It'll be just like old times." She knew it was stupid to ask but part of her contained hope that what they shared, romantically wasn't over. _It can't be over._

"No it won't. I'll never work for Cerberus." When Kaidan turned his back to her, Shepard reached to grab his arm. As hard as it was to do it, he hesitantly tugged away from the woman he loved. " Without turning back he said, "Goodbye Shepard...and good luck."

The commander's throat was tight and restricted. It was hard, but she withheld the river of tears threatening to stain her cheeks. She clicked her communication device. "Joker, send a shuttle to pick us up. I've had enough of this colony."

* * *

To be continued!


End file.
